Frank Lloyd Wright Inspired

Location: Williamsburg, VA

The site for this project was a nine-acre waterfront lot with spectacular views across College Creek toward the James River. Though the majority of the property was located in the flood plain and, therefore, unbuildable, we settled on a site that sloped steeply toward the river.

The clients wanted a contemporary home with weathered gray siding, hip roofs and large overhangs incorporated into their vision of “Hilton Head Island” style architecture. The two-story, four-bedroom house was designed around a master bedroom, living room, central great room, kitchen, breakfast room, screened porch, and pool room on the first floor. A foyer, dining room, mudroom, swimming pool, and three-car garage were also incorporated on the ground level. Upstairs, the requirements included two bedrooms and two baths, a den, and an exercise room. With an extensive collection of baseball memorabilia and antique pots, places to display and showcase their collections were needed along with spacious exterior decks for entertaining.

The house was designed and carefully oriented on the site to maximize prominent views of College Creek. The floor plan evolved from a circulation axis parallel to the river and all of the major spaces are oriented off of this central axis to maximize prominent waterfront views from all the major spaces on the lower level.

While meeting the clients needs, the architect reinterpreted the owner’s vision to the more widely recognized “Prairie” style architecture with an emphasis on wood and brick. Precast concrete elements were incorporated in the design to visually reinforce the strong horizontal lines. Large roof cantilevers were utilized throughout the project to provide outdoor covered areas and emphasize the strong horizontal lines. Special corner glass windows were used throughout the entire residence in order to maximize views from inside the house and emphasize roof cantilevers at the exterior of the house.

Custom display shelving with special lighting was designed in the foyer to showcase the owner’s pottery collection. An interior handrail system which is also utilized as a wainscoting inside the game room serves as both storage and display for the owner’s extensive collection of bats and baseballs. The exterior deck located off of the game room is shaped like the prow of a ship and provides spectacular views of the pool and river below. Even the exterior decks and planters were designed in the “Prairie” style.